Chapter 32 (1/2)

Chapter 32: Two or Three Incidents of Adultery

I awoke with a yawn the next day to discover my bed in a mess. There was a delicate fragrance by my pillow, and a small quant.i.ty of ashes that seemed to be the remains of a incense stick for calming and soothing the nerves.

Who put it here?

I looked around, bending over to put on my shoes as I got off the bed. Draping my clothes over my shoulders, I went to the room next door. Fang Hua’s bedcovers were neatly folded, and he was nowhere to be seen.

The sun shone through the window lattices as it spilled into the room. The surface of the writing desk was empty, and the objects lying there last night had also disappeared, as if…

I suddenly realized I had overslept.

The doors opened lightly from outside, and Little Li entered with a basin of water, his head lowered. I turned around, still looking unpresentable, and scratched my head in perplexity. “Do you know where Lord Hua went so early?”

When the young eunuch saw me, his expression was clearly shocked. A shaking finger pointed at me. “It’s already midday and you’ve only just got out of bed?!”

In the end, he placed his hands in his sleeves, clicking his tongue and smiling as he circled me two or three times. “Lord Hua was called away very early in the morning to treat the emperor’s illness at the main hall. You really are something, waking up after your master.”

— [Original & most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]

It’s not like I wanted to…when I figure out who used that incense on me, then they’ll have a good show…

The young eunuch had enough of ridiculing me and was now in profound thought. While staring at me, he suddenly knelt on the ground. Surprised, I backed away, but he only gave a knowing smile before wringing out a wet washcloth from the basin and wiping the floors.

So he was here to clean the floors…I thought he was bowing to me.

It was a novel sight, so I kneeled next to him and raised my own sleeves. “Doing work? How about I help too?”

“Hey, stop…stop that,” he raised his eyebrows, looking around before pausing on my disorderly bedcovers with a dubious smile. “I can do it myself, so there’s no need to trouble you. Or else, who knows how I’ll be punished?” This fellow, he couldn’t be thinking that last night Fang Hua and I…?

Curses, what kind of thoughts did he keep in his head?!

Helplessly, I left the room without a word. After the wind blew on me, I realized my stomach was empty and I was starving. I searched and pilfered through the rooms before resigning myself to the fact that the court ladies and eunuchs hadn’t left me any food.

My gloomy, dejected wanderings led me to who-knows-where.

Before me now was an expanse of peach blossoms blooming splendidly. A few delicate beauties as fine as jade stood in their midst, surrounding a male figure. A horse with a white mane pawed the dirt on one side with his hooves, whinnying occasionally.

Eh? Is horse-riding allowed inside the palace?

I used my sleeves to brush aside the branches, looking over a few more times. This horse was rather handsome with strong, robust legs. I wondered if they’d taste good if I roasted them. Two or three court ladies stood with faces flushed, the peach blossoms setting off their looks to make them all the more beautiful. These figures and those faces, as well as the gazes full of tender, timid affection…were really a captivating sight.

“Imperial physician, my master felt unwell upon waking up today.” What a pleasant-sounding flirt.

“Imperial Physician Nong, my master felt dizzy last night. No matter what you say, you should come over to our place first.” This one sounded soft and dainty.

Nongyu stood wordlessly smiling between them, his hand stroking the white horse like a virtuous sage as he gently muttered to himself, irresolute. “I’m busy attending to the emperor’s well-being, so I need to leave the palace to handle some affairs.”

“Really? That’s so unlucky,” the court ladies lowered their heads and held their handkerchiefs, exchanging glances with each other.

“Your masters’ illnesses will be seen to by other imperial physicians,” Nongyu seemed not to have noticed, his smile filled with modest courtesy on his gentle face.

Hmph…

Faker. He looked like a well-read scholar of the Confucian cla.s.sics, but he was really a bad-intentioned weasel. Those girls were still young, so they didn’t understand…tsk, tsk.

I sighed with emotion and prepared to leave, but he suddenly lifted his face and raised his eyebrows, moving apart from the others…to rest at my face with a thoughtful smile. My expression s.h.i.+fted and I exclaimed, not good!

“I still have something to take care of, so I’ll be taking my leave,” He gracefully mounted the horse, the black robes and white jade hairpin evoking the image of an immortal. Pulling back on the reins, his eyes swept towards me with an expression full of tenderness.

I lowered my head and silently walked away.

A burst of horse hooves unhurriedly swept by me. I gave a start and braced myself, but he didn’t even look at me before waving his whip and stalk off, leaving…a big cloud of dust. I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he was far off now, I thought he’d try something again. He’d scared me enough to set my heart pounding, always touching this and touching that without my permission.

Then my ears p.r.i.c.ked up, and an ominous feeling rose from the depths of my heart. Why was the sound of horse hooves getting louder and closer…? The court ladies nearby also sucked in their breaths.

My head turned numb.

Suddenly, a pair of hands found themselves around my waist. There was a light laugh, and someone’s breath tickled the hair on my temples. I blinked, and before I could react, my body was whisked off the ground, into the air…

While I was still badly shaken, a light jacket wrapped me tight in its embrace, its white down tickling my face immensely. Wind rushed past my ears, mixed with the laughter of the court ladies.

“Stupid Nongyu, what are you playing at?!”

“Shh, I want to take you somewhere before I leave the palace…don’t make a fuss. Be careful your noise doesn’t attract the guards.” his finger lightly caressed my face, elegant eyebrows arching towards his temples in a wide smile.

His was an exceedingly handsome face that concentrated all his looks in one point. The sun shone upon it as he looked down at me…the light making it hard for me to open my eyes.

— [Original & most up to date translations for this series can be found on volaretranslations.]

It was a b.u.mpy ride atop the horse. With no way to grab the reins, I was tossed about dizzily, and my empty stomach ached.

“Ah, we made it.”

Finally…

I practically slid off the horse to fall painfully on my b.u.t.t. The earth was damp here, and a thick fragrance of flowers hovered nearby. I took a deep breath and found myself in the midst of a sea of blossoms.

“Do you like it?” Nongyu smiled as he stood by my side.

“More than like it, this is simply…” Too exciting.

I swallowed wordlessly, so happy I had to use a sleeve to wipe away my drool as my tongue clicked. These flowers were enough to feed Fang Hua for years. If yifu was brought here, he’d definitely find it hard to contain his joy. Then pour him some wine, and maybe he’d voluntarily pledge marriage to someone… These thoughts made me more and more excited as they galloped off without my will.

“Oh, that’s right. Someone asked me to bring these to you.” Nongyu pulled out a cloth bundle from the horse and tossed it to my arms, smiling as he looked at me. “Open it up and take a look.”

I lowered my head uncertainly, weighing the package in my hands. It didn’t feel too strange, and the material was also extremely familiar…

“I have to leave the palace for a trip again today, so I’ll be back at night.” he said, voice like the sound of flowing water.

What did that have to do with me? Fellow brother, you don’t need to tell me these things. It’s fine even if you don’t come back for three years. Not the least interested in his talk, I sat down and untied the knot of the bundle. In turn, golden powder spilled onto my clothes, and the faint forms of a jade ring and b.u.t.terfly hairpin could be seen within. Still a bit uncertain, I reached in and found a container of rouge as well.

“The emperor’s illness is still missing a certain ingredient to treat it, so I had the idea to look for it around Fang Hua’s house. I’ve heard that many rare and difficult-to-find medicinal plants grow there. And so…when your yifu heard me talk, he told me to bring these things to you.”

I lowered my head and silently dug into the bag.

Finally…I found something edible. My eyes brimmed with tears.

Nongyu sat down beside me, raising his robes to give me a rapt look as I devoured the food, speaking in a low tone. “Have or haven’t you been listening? What misfortune did I incur to meet a personality like yours…”

I curved my eyes into a smile and bit off another large mouthful, my words jumbled. “You try being hungry for half a day without food. I bet you’d be no better.”